Far Out

"You live so far out!"

I can't tell you how often my husband and I have heard this from our friends since we moved to south central Kentucky. They're right - we do live about 30-40 minutes out of the city. Moving here from Louisville, I don't think anything about the drive. (It can take 30-40 minutes to go just a few miles in the Derby City at rush hour!) However, our friends are used to a 10-20 minute commute and marvel at our willingness to drive that far.

I don't mind the drive to and from town (Nicholasville) or the city (Lexington). It's a pretty drive. By the time we ge home, we've "unwound" and we're ready to relax. Our neighborhood is peaceful and quiet. In the spring, there are redbuds and dogwoods everywhere! The trees by the lake have more shades of green in them than I knew existed. In the summer, it's not unusual for a blue heron to fly over our property going from one finger of the lake to another.

The little two-lane road to our neighborhood winds around farms. There's a particular fencepost that is the perch of choice for a Harrier hawk. I often slow my car to a crawl so I can just stare at the magnificent bird. Driving home at night in the summer and fall, it's not unusual to see a red fox dash across the road in from of you. Its auburn hair looks like it has been brushed by a groomer and even at night, it shines. Early morning trips are sometimes delayed by stopping to watch deer (and occasionally fawns) grazing in an undeveloped lot.

We have purple martins in gourds in our back yard. They take care of mosquitos and other bugs from their arrival in late March to their too-soon departure in early August. They also provide daily air shows swooping and gliding in ways that would put any fighter pilot to shame!

And at night, I go outside and look up and see stars. Lots of stars. I hear crickets. I hear the occasional frog croak. A mockingbird chatters protesting the light from my porch. I smile and remember why we live this far out.